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Posturban reveals why the future cannot remain urban. Linking climate breakdown, inequality, and democratic erosion to an urban paradigm rooted in a patriarchal, discriminative divide, it calls for a radical shift towards resilient, decentralised, and ecologically rooted ways of living.
Through a transdisciplinary critique of urbanisation's ties to capitalism, consumerism, and technocratic governance, the book shows why urban-centred solutions fail-and what can replace them. It introduces alterRural, Epimethean modernities that restore faith in nature and humanity: frameworks uniting ecological care, community autonomy, and cultural resilience into strategies for systemic change. It demonstrates how a plurality of place-based communities can lead towards sustainable, equitable, and life-affirming ways to inhabit Earth.
Written for engaged citizens, activists, policymakers, and scholars interested in more equitable and sustainable ways to organise society,
Posturban is for anyone ready to challenge the future of cities and explore viable, hopeful alternatives.
List of contents
Introduction Part One: The Urban, Promethean Modernity, And Their Economy 1. What Is Urban? 2. The Urban Drive: Promethean Modernity 3. Interlude: Economy And Economics 4. The Decline Of Promethean Wellbeing 5. Back To The Urban Part Two: Exploring Alternatives: Epimethean Modernity 6. The Other Side: Rurality 7. The Other Side Of History 8. Posturban: Alterrural Endeavours 9. Towards New Complex Social Morphologies 10. Conclusion
About the author
Pieter Versteegh, PhD (ETH Lausanne) in Architecture and Sciences of the City, is a free-lance researcher and teacher. He explores the co-construction of identity within post-urban dwelling modes, focusing on the mirrors of globalised urban Western society: rurality and the spaces of psychiatric care. He is co-founder of ARENA (Architectural Research European Network Association) and initiator of its AlterRurality network. He has taught in the domains of architecture, urban planning, and social work.
